**Chapter 1: Fall**
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Gu Xiao stood upon the Ascension Platform.
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He was the youngest Grand Emperor the Immortal Realm had seen in a hundred thousand years. At three thousand seven hundred years old, he had comprehended his Dao, causing ten thousand Great Daos to resonate and the myriad heavens to tremble. He was also, by all accounts, the most shameless Grand Emperor in history.
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He had a quirk known to all immortals: an obsession with other people’s hair. His Imperial Palace housed three thousand Hair Attendants, each meticulously chosen for the quality of their locks. When handling official matters, he would stroke hair to think; during secluded cultivation, he would inhale the scent of hair to enter meditation; and when debating the Dao with peers, if their hair quality displeased him, he would simply stand up and leave. Rumor had it that once, an Immortal Lord came to pay respects. Gu Xiao stared at his topknot for half a teacup’s time, then said, “Your hair is too dry. Go back, change your hair-washing formula, and try again,” before dismissing him. The Immortal Lord stood outside the palace for three days, never quite understanding how he had offended the Grand Emperor.Furthermore, he frequently spied on female cultivators while they bathed, which earned him a thoroughly shameless reputation.
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But Gu Xiao didn’t care. He was the Master of the Imperial Palace, the only Grand Emperor in the Immortal Realm, and the true sovereign of this world. He would live exactly as he pleased, and no one could tell him otherwise.
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The Immortal Realm called him the “Grand Emperor of Hair.” Half in jest, half in awe.
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The Ascension Platform hung at the highest point of the Central Immortal Domain. It was a circular dais forged from hundreds of millions of immortal crystals, its surface carved with the names of ancient ascenders. Most of those names had long become legends in the Divine Realm; a few remained forever on the platform—obliterated by divine lightning until their very inscriptions had dimmed.
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Gu Xiao’s name had not yet been carved. But he believed that after today, it would shine brighter than any that came before.
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The Nine Heavens Divine Lightning Tribulation was the final trial for any Grand Emperor ascending to the Divine Realm. Nine bolts of divine lightning, each stronger than the last. It was said the ninth bolt alone possessed the power to erase a Grand Emperor at the peak of his power. In the history of the Immortal Realm, no more than a handful of Grand Emperors had ever survived it. Gu Xiao could have waited a few more millennia, refining his cultivation to its absolute limit before attempting it. But he chose not to wait.
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Because word had come from the Divine Realm: the Divine Temple’s suppression of ascenders had grown increasingly severe. Over the past ten thousand years, not a single immortal who had ascended had escaped being marginalized, monitored, and treated as second-class beings. Gu Xiao had no intention of playing second fiddle. He was the Master of the Imperial Palace, the Supreme Sovereign of the Immortal Realm. He had always been the one to oppress others; no one would ever oppress him. He would step into the Divine Realm at his absolute peak, forcing the Temple to open their eyes and witness what a true Grand Emperor looked like.
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Beside the Ascension Platform stood a woman in white.
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Her name was Su Yingxue. Gu Xiao’s Dao companion, who had walked beside him from Golden Immortal to Grand Emperor over three thousand seven hundred years. She had hair as black as a waterfall, cascading to her waist and loosely tied with a plain white ribbon. It carried a faint, cool fragrance, like the first snow of winter settling on pine branches. The first time Gu Xiao had seen her, it was her hair that had captivated him. Back then, she was merely a Golden Immortal cultivator, sitting quietly in a corner during a Dao debate conference, unnoticed by all. But Gu Xiao had noticed—because among the hundreds in the hall, hers was the only hair he couldn’t look away from.
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Three thousand seven hundred years. He had seen countless heads of hair. The three thousand Hair Attendants in his palace each possessed locks of remarkable quality—some smooth as silk, some voluminous as clouds, some fragrant with flowers, others with fruit. Yet none could compare to Su Yingxue’s hair. It was the most precious treasure in his collection, so precious he never let anyone else touch it. Even he, only at sunset each day, would gently stroke the ends. That was the most peaceful moment of his day.
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“Yingxue.” Gu Xiao turned to look at her. The fading sunlight fell upon her long hair, casting a soft golden halo. “Once I’ve secured my footing in the Divine Realm, I’ll come back for you.”
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Su Yingxue nodded gently, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile. “Alright.”
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In her eyes lay a subtle emotion he failed to notice. Like an undercurrent beneath a frozen lake, hidden beneath a thin layer of ice, invisible, yet always there.
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The divine lightning tribulation descended.
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When the first bolt of divine lightning struck, the entire Ascension Platform trembled. Gu Xiao didn’t summon any magical treasures. He simply raised his hand, and his Grand Emperor-level immortal energy coalesced into a colossal palm, crushing the lightning bolt barehanded. The second and third bolts fell in succession, yet he remained firmly rooted, not even a single crack appearing on the immortal crystal dais beneath his feet. Watching from afar, Vice Palace Master Qin Cang of the Imperial Palace stood at the forefront of the assembled immortals, nodding silently. He murmured to his trusted aide, “The Palace Master’s strength has grown by another thirty percent since he comprehended his Dao. His arrival in the Divine Realm will surely stir up a storm.”
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Qin Cang was the second-in-command of the Imperial Palace, at the peak of the Half-Step Grand Emperor realm, mere hairsbreadth away from the apex. He had been trapped at this stage for twenty thousand years, unable to break through. After Gu Xiao attained Grand Emperorhood, Qin Cang willingly devoted himself to assisting him, managing the palace’s daily affairs in his stead. Throughout the Immortal Realm, it was widely known that Vice Palace Master Qin was utterly loyal to Palace Master Gu, never harboring a single disloyal thought. Gu Xiao trusted him deeply, even entrusting him with the majority of the palace’s authority.
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For the fourth through seventh bolts, Gu Xiao began to draw upon his Grand Emperor origin power. Behind him, the illusory forms of three thousand Great Daos materialized—the Dao fruits he had condensed upon comprehending his path, each representing a complete universal law. The divine lightning crashed against them like colossal waves against a reef, scattering bolts of thunderous light, yet the reef stood immovable.
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The eighth divine lightning bolt fell.
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This time, Gu Xiao’s expression finally grew grave. The lightning was no longer gold-white, but tinged with an eerie, dark crimson. It was the suppressing force of the Divine Realm’s Heavenly Dao, specifically targeting the origin power of an ascender. Gu Xiao drew a deep breath. The three thousand Great Daos trembled in unison, weaving into a luminous shield above his head. When the lightning collided with the shield, the shockwave rippled across the entire Central Immortal Domain. Among the watching immortals, those with weaker cultivation were forced back several steps, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
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The shield shattered. But the eighth bolt dissipated as well.
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A thin trickle of blood escaped Gu Xiao’s lips. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and glanced back at Su Yingxue. She stood where she was, her white robes like snow, her long hair swaying gently in the tribulation’s aftershocks. He offered her a faint smile, as if to say: *Don’t worry. Only one left.*
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Then the ninth divine lightning bolt fell.
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This one was neither gold-white nor dark crimson, but pure, unadulterated black. Black as the abyss, as the void, as the primordial chaos before heaven and earth were formed. Gu Xiao had never witnessed such a tribulation, yet he did not retreat. All three thousand Great Daos erupted from his body, coalescing above his head into a single sword—his ultimate strike, forged from his Grand Emperor origin power, named *Severing Dao*.
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He never expected the Severing Dao sword to come from behind him.
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The moment the sword tip pierced through his chest, Gu Xiao felt no pain. Only a sudden chill in his torso, followed by the sight of a familiar blade tip protruding from him, stained with his own blood. It was the tip of the Yingxue Sword. The sword he had gifted Su Yingxue, its hilt still engraved with both their names.
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The three thousand Great Daos fractured, segment by segment. Not shattered by divine lightning, but crumbling from within. Because embedded in the sword that pierced his heart was a power he had never encountered—not immortal energy, but divine power. It spread through his Grand Emperor origin like a venomous snake, devouring every thread of cultivation he had amassed over three thousand seven hundred years.
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“...Why?”
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He didn’t turn around. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare. He feared that if he turned and saw Su Yingxue’s face, he would never be able to ask that question again.
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Su Yingxue’s hand was trembling. The hand holding the sword was the same one he had held for three thousand seven hundred years. He knew every line on it, the way her pinky finger lifted slightly when she gripped a blade, the faint sweat that seeped from her palm when she was nervous. Now, that hand trembled more violently than he had ever seen it. Yet she did not release the hilt.
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“The Divine Temple ordered me to kill you.” Her voice was calm, so calm it was as if she were discussing something entirely unrelated to herself. “Once it’s done, they will bring me into the Divine Realm.”
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Gu Xiao asked no more. His hand reached backward, not to counterattack, not even to struggle. He only wanted to touch the ends of her hair—just as he had for the past three thousand seven hundred years. At the most crucial moment, to stroke the hair he was most obsessed with.
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His fingertips were only an inch away from that strand of dark silk.
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The ninth divine lightning bolt consumed everything. Black lightning surged like a reversed celestial river, swallowing both figures on the Ascension Platform. A chorus of gasps erupted from the watching immortals. Qin Cang’s pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively took a step forward—but no one could approach the platform. Once the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning Tribulation began, outsiders were powerless to interfere.
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In his final moment before demise, Gu Xiao did one thing.
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He tore a sliver of his primordial soul from his collapsing flesh and hurled it into the cycle of reincarnation. Not for rebirth. For revenge.
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The lightning faded. Only Su Yingxue remained on the Ascension Platform. Her white robes were torn in several places by the tribulation, but her hand still gripped the Yingxue Sword, its tip dripping with blood. Gu Xiao’s blood. She lowered her head and stared at the sword for a long time. Then she reached out to catch the ashes that had once been Gu Xiao’s body. The灰烬 slipped through her fingers, leaving nothing behind.
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The sky cracked open.
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A massive hand emerged from the fissure. Its five fingers were slender, its skin as pale and smooth as jade, and on its back was tattooed a vertical eye—its pupil completely empty. It was the emblem of the Divine Temple. Su Yingxue glanced up at the hand, saying nothing. She slid the Yingxue Sword into the scabbard at her waist and allowed the hand to lift her, pulling her into the rift.
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The fissure sealed. The Ascension Platform stood empty, save for the wind.
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Qin Cang stood frozen, his face ashen. Behind him, a trusted aide whispered, “Vice Palace Master, the Palace Master… should we investigate?”
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“Silence.” Qin Cang cut him off, his voice heavy as a mountain pressing down. “No one is to speak of what happened today. The Imperial Palace cannot be without a master for even a day, but we absolutely cannot let the outside world know the Palace Master was killed by the Divine Temple. From today forward, the official account will be that the Palace Master failed his tribulation and perished in the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning.”
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“Then the Imperial Palace… who will take charge?”
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Qin Cang fell silent for a long time. He looked up at the now-sealed fissure in the sky, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes.
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“I will temporarily assume the Palace Master’s duties,” he said. “Until a new Grand Emperor is born.”
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No one objected. Nor did anyone dare to.
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No one knew that in the final moment before the massive hand closed, a single, exceedingly faint strand of dark hair drifted from Su Yingxue’s locks. It slipped through the closing gap of the fissure, falling back into the Immortal Realm. It floated and drifted, crossing over the countless palaces of the Central Immortal Domain, passing beyond the boundary rivers of the Thirty-Three Immortal Realms, and finally slipped into the reincarnation pathway, vanishing just behind Gu Xiao’s sliver of primordial soul.
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It was a single strand of hair severed from Su Yingxue.
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No one saw it. Not even she knew it had fallen.
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Qin Cang took one last look at the ruins of the Ascension Platform, then turned and left. His shadow stretched long in the setting sun. Silently, he thought: *Gu Xiao, you owe me a Grand Emperor’s realm. Now that you’re dead, who do I claim it from?*
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But he said nothing aloud.
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*(End of Chapter 1)*
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